SOCIAL ISOLATION AND MENTAL HEALTH OF LATIN AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENTS IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: Systematic review

Abstract

The objective of this study was to carry out a systematic review of publications that reported the assessment of the mental health of university students in Latin America specifically during the period of social isolation in the Covid-19 pandemic. The databases used for research were: Lilacs, PubMed, APA PsycInfo and Scielo to collect studies in english, spanish or portuguese. The database consultation took place in May 2022 and the descriptors adopted were: mental health, students and pandemic. The Boolean AND was used to combine the descriptors. Studies with undergraduates in institutions in Latin America were included, involving mental health and having been carried out during the period of social isolation. All publications that were not empirical studies, with other members of the academic community or in languages other than those used in the database consultation were excluded. The selection of eligible articles was carried out by two reviewers who assessed the quality of each study for subsequent data extraction. To synthesize the results, the thematic synthesis narrative approach was used. Were identified 6,150 publications initially, which resulted in 11 studies included after applying the eligibility criteria. The results reveal, with the exception of one study, that the quality of mental health of Latin American university students during the period of social isolation in the Covid-19 pandemic reduced. The main impacts reported involve an increase in levels of anxiety, stress and depression, as well as worsening sleep quality. It was observed that physical activity and pre-stress coping during this period served as protective factors for mental health. On the other hand, factors such as: sedentary lifestyle, economic instability, being female and having had Covid-19 were shown to aggravate the declining of individuals' mental health.